Wednesday, July 29, 2009

I have been going through a tremendous amount of life turbulence lately, all of it out of my own direct control, and therefore causing me great stress. Chief Joseph's words, channelled by John Cali in "The Way of The Warrior", have been a very timely reminder to me to relax and not take life so seriously. I first discovered "The Way of the Warrior" in this beautiful video presentation by Reinis Ikass.

"The Way of the Warrior" has been so helpful to me that I wanted to make a habit of reviewing it each day, as a reminder of all I believe and how much easier life is if I simply "allow". I have gone through and personalized it for myself, substituting "my way" for "The Warrior's Way" so that it reflects "first person" writing style. An interesting side effect is that it makes "The Way of the Warrior" gender neutral and allows easier internalization of the concepts. As the reader I "own" the concepts more readily when I read "I always" rather than "the Warrior always".

My Way

My way is simple. It may be simple but it's not always easy.

I always speak my truth - no matter what the circumstances.

I am totally detached from what others think and say about me. (This is absolutely necessary if I am going to observe the first rule above.)

I always do my best to see the divinity in all that is. In this way, I shall never have any desire to own, control, manipulate, misuse or abuse any of the Great Spirit's creatures.

I always follow the highest path as dictated by the highest authority in the Universe - myself.

I totally trust in - and surrender to - the flow of my life. I know all is as it should be. Therefore I must always completely trust in - and surrender to - my Higher Self, my Soul, the Great Spirit.

I know all Love, all Wisdom, all Power lies within me - within my heart, my mind, my body, my Soul. There is nothing to seek, nothing to find, nowhere to go - except WITHIN.

I know with absolute certainty I have never made a mistake - I can never make a mistake. All of my life is simply a lesson in this classroom called Planet Earth. I learn as I go. All is as it should be.

I never take life on Planet Earth too seriously. It's all a game, after all - a game in the classroom of Planet Earth. And games should be fun. Enjoy the game - it won't last forever!

My heart is always full - and always grateful. I never know lack or emptiness - except, that is, when I create those illusions by getting too infatuated with the Great Illusion - the human experience.

I know the Great Illusion creates some highly interesting challenges - for example, the challenge to rise above the Great Illusion.

As I rise above the Great Illusion, I know this experience is as it should be - I have chosen it. And in this choosing, I am remembering my way back to the Light - back to my Home. That was the only reason for choosing the Great Illusion in the first place.

I know all my brothers and sisters on Planet Earth have the same destination I have - HOME. But each may take a different path. And I know that's okay! All will get Home - no matter what path they take. It cannot be otherwise - for ALL paths lead HOME.

I know the way of the wind. I love the wind, but I know I cannot capture it - I cannot own it. I can love it, luxuriate in its presence, glory in its energy. But if I try to capture it, it becomes something other than what it truly is - it becomes still and stagnant air. I can never possess it completely - unless I refuse to ever own it - unless I refuse to ever have sovereignty over it. I can possess it only by letting it be free - by letting it be what it is.

It cannot be otherwise. My Way is the Way of the Wind.

Monday, July 27, 2009

I searched and searched through the pile of felt looking for "piece #3, snow" which was to be decorated with sequins and beads and then appliquéd onto the tees and sky. I was looking for something small and snow mound like....like that curved bit bellow the trees there.

It took me a while to realize that almost one entire sheet of felt was "piece #3, snow". Nearly the whole front of the stocking is "piece #3, snow" and it was labelled with a tiny number 3 below the bottom outline.....nowhere near the snow mound shape I thought I should be looking for.

It's kind of nice having that whole large background piece in place. Now to start in on the layers and layers of dimensional, embroidered, sequined, beaded and appliqued pieces that make these Mary Maxim stockings so special.

Friday, July 24, 2009

It's time. Not Christmas time. Not time for snow flurries. It's time that I started working on granddaughter Kenzie's Christmas stocking!

These fancy Mary Maxim stockings are very detailed and take a long time to make. If I don't want to be rushing to finish it during the madness of the busy holiday season I had better get a move on. Kaylen would never understand if her little sister didn't have a stocking to hang on her very first Christmas.

I'm still knitting on the Aeolian Shawl though. I'm working on the 11th repeat of the Yucca Chart.

Weaving also continues. At the moment the floor loom is naked but I have other projects waiting in the wings. The Potpourri Warp has been cut off and wet finished. It will eventually become cushion covers, but for now it is being put aside as an entry in the "woven yardage" category of the Chilliwack Exhibition. I'm entering quite a number of things this year. I suspect that most of my entries have very little chance of winning anything but I think its important that we support our local fair so that it will continue for many years to come.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Inspired by Andrea's example I wanted to write a list of MY natural anti-depressants too. Once I got rolling I found that it would be easy to list more than just ten. I encourage you to list your own favourite 10 natural anti-depressants here in the comments......and on your own blog if you have one.

1. A long nature walk.2. A vigorous gym workout.3. A hug from someone who understands.4. The companionship of a dog.5. Completing a successful project.6. A smile....given or received.

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Work on the Aeolian Shawl continues. It's been a while since I've knit lace and even at this early stage the rows seem very long.

It's a triangular/faroese shape worked from the top down, so the rows are only going to get longer and longer. I have to concentrate when I work lace, so I dare not pick it up when there are distractions. Progress will be slow.

Monday, July 13, 2009

My daughter has a beautiful new guitar and has started lessons. She asked if I would make her an inkle band guitar strap.

I just happened to have the exact colours on hand!

On the right is the first band I made. Despite my best efforts at calculating the required number of threads it came out too narrow----so I'll call it "band practice". With experience and information gleaned from the first band I was able to calculate the additional threads needed to get the desired 2" band.

With 152 warp threads this band took longer to get on the loom than it is taking to weave it.

Friday, July 03, 2009

I've given up on the flax cotton blend yarn. I found it was showing signs of wear and fuzzing even while I was knitting it. I was afraid the finished stole would soon resemble a well used dish rag.

Still, the urge to knit lace remained strong and a trip to the local yarn store was necessary. The lace selection there was not large and none of the colours grabbed me as spectacular. I didn't want to wait for an internet order though. I bought "Alpaca with a Twist, Fino" in #2000, plum wine, which was the closest I could find to what I was really after, then I went home and over dyed it. I threw red and a wee bit of black into the dye pot and got the exact shade I had been looking for.

It's what I would call a "black cherry" colour. I will eventually knit the Lilac Leaf Lace Shawl I had started as I do love that pattern, but this overdyed alpaca/silk will become an Aeolian Shawl.